This invention relates to cutting devices, and more particularly, to cutting devices adapted to cut plastic edging used as a border around various articles, such as foam board mounted exhibits, mounted photographs, signs, plaques, and the like. While the invention is described with particular reference to those applications, those skilled in the art will recognize the wider applicability of the inventive principles disclosed hereinafter.
Techniques for cutting plastic or metal edging which is then placed around the second article, such as a foam board mounted exhibit, mounted photograph, sign or plaque, are well known. The plastic edging, commonly referred to as lineals in the trade, normally has a J or U-shaped channel formed in it, which is designed to receive the edge of the item encased. One particular apparatus accomplishing that function is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,943,933 to Evans et al. (the '933 patent). The '933 patent discloses a cutting mechanism which is mounted on a base member. The base member is placed on a work surface, such as a table, and a cutting operation is performed. While the apparatus disclosed in the '933 patent works for its intended purpose, review of that patent shows that the handle or actuating mechanism is difficult to operate. This difficulty results from the fact that the force applied to the handle is done in a horizontal plane parallel to the plane of the table top or other work surface, for example. The result is that when sufficient pressure is applied to activate the handle, the entire machine is likely to slide, twist, and rotate. This makes it necessary for the operator to offset the momentum by attempting to “hold the machine steady”. Because it is necessary to apply equal and opposite pressure to the base of the device, the device is awkward to use and hard to operate. Repeated use often results in operator fatigue. That fatigue may lead to carpal tunnel injury.
In addition, because the actuating mechanism disclosed in the '933 patent is positioned laterally from the cutting mechanism, the associated measurement mechanism disclosed in the '933 patent can only be attached to the device on the opposite side of the cutting mechanism, and is not interchangeable from left to right. This severely limits the application of the apparatus in operational use. For example, because the measuring system of the '933 patent only can be attached along the right hand side of the cutting mechanism the device operates only as a right-handed device, limiting its usefulness of the device for left-handed operators. In addition, the construction limits the unit's logistical location in a work environment where space is at a premium, and where there may not be a work space that allows the lineals to be cut from left to right.
Accordingly, there is a need in the industry for a lineal cutting tool configured with an adjustable measuring system to permit the operator to configure the cutting tool to accept the lineals from either left to right, or from right to left. Equally important is the need in the industry for a cutting mechanism which is actuated in a plane perpendicular to the adjustable measuring system, and in a direction corresponding to the direction of the force of gravity, regardless of the orientation of the device to which the cutting mechanism is mounted, thereby avoiding the application of a rotating or twisting torque on the cutting mechanism during use.